According to tradition, the monastery of Moutiers-Saint-Jean was founded by the first Christian kings of France, Clovis and his son Clothar. They are almost certainly the donors standing at either side, presenting their charters. The small seated figures on either side represent ancestors of the Virgin and Christ, including Moses. The tympanum above shows the Coronation of the Virgin in heaven, one of the most popular subjects in thirteenth-century French art. Despite damage sustained during tumultuous times, the naturalistic rendering of the anatomy, the plant motifs, and the delicate details throughout make this doorway an exemplary testament of theGothic style.

Rorimer, James J. "It Was Just Yesterday." In Studies in the History of Art Dedicated to William E. Suida on His Eightieth Birthday, edited by Samuel H. Kress Foundation. London: Phaidon Press, 1959. p. 10, fig. 3, 4.

Stratford, Neil. "The Moutiers-Saint-Jean Portal in The Cloisters." In The Cloisters: Studies in Honor of the Fiftieth Anniversary, edited by Elizabeth C. Parker. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1992. pp. 260-81, fig. 1.